CCU removed from Texas "illegal" list

At this time I cannot comment on how or why CCU was removed from the list, but it is good news!

http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/AAR/PrivateInstitutions/NoTX.cfm

Abner

 

Im rather glad to see that as well.

 

Probably because they received DETC accreditation.

 

It was there on the Texas list long after DETC graduation. A month or two ago it changed to say degrees there prior to accreditation were illegal to use. It has since been deleted altogether.

I agree with others that it is good. The incident to me demonstrates the dangers that can come from even legitimate unaccredited degrees.

 

The wheels of government often turn slowly, Bill.

 

Perhaps our letters of concern did not fall on deaf ears. I know they (the State) wrote me back about my concerns.

I noticed that they have not removed Ashford University....which is so stupid. There was a fake Ashford for maybe 6 months and now there will be confusion about people like me who went to the "real" Ashford. Hey, they've had fake Columbia and Harvard degrees at mills too but I don't see them listed.

 

I'm willing to bet there are a lot of people out there with fake Ashford University diplomas, so it's worth keeping.

Columbia and Harvard are real schools, Ashford University (the mill) is not.

 

kinda funny. i had a client from another country with a fake ashford degree. I called the real ashford to verify and they didn't seem to care that a fake ashford was out there. It seemed odd to me at the time, i guess it still seems odd now.

 

Please check your PM's.

Abner

 

I strongly disagree.

If Texas makes use of degrees awarded by schools lacking TX recognized accreditation illegal, then Cal Coast degrees that were awarded prior to the school's recent DETC accreditation need to included.

Cal Coast was in business for 30 years before it finally saw fit to seek accreditation and arguably it was pretty millish at times. Certainly it was no better academically than any number of other CA-approved schools

I think that it has the exact opposite effect. 30 years of arguably substandard and certainly unaccredited Cal Coast degrees have apparently just been declared legal for use in Texas.

Meanwhile people can theoretically be arrested and jailed (I doubt if that will actually happen) for publicly stating that they graduated from state-approved programs that are academically superior to anything that Cal Coast was prior to its recent DETC accreditation, and probably in a few cases superior to what Cal Coast is today.

I await Texas' craven reaction if K-W/Warren National is ever accredited.

 

I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

Bill,

Your logic is sensible, but I have a problem with it. Does it mean that each state education governing bodies have to delineate pre-accreditation degrees from post-accreditation degrees for all universities and colleges in the USA? If this is a requirement, I am sure that degrees for many people in this country will not hold water. Much regards.
Cehi

 

I'm not so sure.

Unlike Abner, I don't pretend to know what motivated TX to make this latest ill-advised change on their website. But I'm guessing that it was the threat of litigation, probably coming from Cal Coast.

Well, we all know that K-W/W-N has very deep pockets and that it isn't afraid to go to court.

So if K-W/W-N is ever accredited, then I expect that TX will likely grandfather in all the K-W degrees awarded over the many years. It might be difficult to justify a decision to deny K-W what Cal Coast was given. And defending that decision would mean adding another case to the state attorney general's crowded calendar, a case that office might be motivated to settle.

My guess is that something like that recently happened in Cal Coast's case. If Texas can be pushed around, then expect K-W/W-N to push.

 

The blurb on each school's history relative to the list is interesting. Moreover, I suppose these "illegal lists" do some good in that they do tend to list the most notorious of the illegitimate schools... However, this list should document schools as the laws of the State of Texas intend. If there is a provision for tracking schools, after they become accredited in a manner that is meaningful to USDOE, then so be it. CalCoast should have been removed long ago based on the definition of the list according to the law.

Dave

 

Exactly!

Abner

 

I share Bill's concerns.

Normally, degrees awarded by a school prior to its accreditation are non-controversial and can, reasonably, be as acceptable as those awarded after accreditation. This is because most serious new schools make a pointed march towards accreditation. One might presume that they've always awarded worthwhile degrees. But CCU's tale is different.

Again, as Bill notes, CCU operated for more than 3 decades without even pursuing recognized accreditation. Can anyone say that a CCU degree awarded in, say, 1988 represents the same level of academic accomplishment as one awarded today? Not with assurance.

In September 2001, I began teaching a night class for a small, start-up university. At the time, the school enrolled only foreign students. (It was set up by some folks from Turkey to do just that. Because it wasn't accredited yet, it didn't attract U.S.-based students. But the foreign students would be able to use the degrees in their home countries without too much difficulty.) But when the 9/11 attacks happened, this school found the restrictions regarding foreign students so stifling that it almost shut its doors. After teaching 5 or 6 classes over the next 2 years, it became clear they might not be sound enough financially to pursue accreditation a while, if ever. I was happy to help a start-up school, but if they didn't progress to accreditation, the validity and utility of their degrees would come into question. For that reason, I decided not to teach any more classes. As of this date they're still not accredited, but I haven't worked with them in 4 years, so I don't know why.

Progressing towards accreditation is essential for a new school in order to prove its bona fides. Those that don't should be considered questionable, regardless the reason.

 

Degrees are not grandfathered in. An employer or school can look up any schools accreditation, and the date the school was accredited. A USDOE/CHEA database check will show when a school was accredited. For example, a CCU degree received in 1999 would not be accredited, thus the degree would STILL be illegal to use in Texas. Nothing has changed in that respect.

Hang on to your seats boys, there will be more good news to come. Times are a changing.

Abner